A Frugal Driving Mans Green Car Search
The Cheap Electric Car Link List
Links to help save you money by driving an electric car
If you have a little more money to spend, look at the cars at the end of the list!
Here, for sale, are some gasoline cars converted to electric. Don't be put off by all the 1980s cars here - the best conversion is a car with a good body but a poor engine. The car can then be obtained for next to nothing. Next, the engine and all associated parts are stripped out, and a new electric drivetrain installed.
Peruse some used electric vehicles here. Remember, electric vehicles are very reliable, so an old car can still serve you well. Be aware you may need to invest in a new battery pack (about $1000) for some of these.
Here's an entrepreneur who will convert your car to electric for a very reasonable price.
Ampmobile electric conversions
Another place to get your car converted to electric.
Here you can look at the thousands of EV owners and their cars.
Here's somebody's experience converting a car to electric.
The Chevy Volt is an EV for the first 25 to 50 miles of driving, then it becomes a very efficient series gas-electric hybrid
for an additional 350 miles of driving. Ideal if most of your daily driving is under 50 miles, but you still need to take that occasional long trip.
The first 100% electric mass-market car from a major auto manufacturer.
The MiEV from Mitsubishi arguably has the most advanced EV battery on the market.
New Electric Vehicle at Miles Automotive
These are are NEVs, or 'Neighborhood Electric Vehicles' , low-speed electric cars that can't be taken on the freeway.
Do it yourself! E-Volks has electric vehicle conversion kits for as little as $2280.
New Leaf EV - Electric VW Bugs
Convert your classic VW Bug (or an old Bug they supply) to a full electric vehicle.
Wheego is an EV newcomer but is aggressively signing up dealers for their cars.
Tesla long range all-electric cars
Alas, here we have EVs which are not cheap but with awesome capabilities. The Tesla Roadster can out-accelerate a Ferrari, has a 130mph top speed, and gets about 220 miles per charge. The Model S has up to a 300-mile range.
The Triac is another tiny EV which is expected to sell for a very reasonable sum.
Electric Vehicles and Pollution
Here are a number of studies (warning, this is a PDF file) showing the full well-to-wheels emissions impact of driving electric. The studies have been collected here by Sherry Boschert, author of "Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge America."
Study showing there's enough juice to charge EVs
"Science Daily - A new study for the Department of Energy finds that "off-peak" electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel 84 percent of the country's 220 million vehicles if they were plug-ins."